Tribute to a Fallen Friend
by Data Girl 3
Summary: The Bohemians create a special movie for their friend, Angel, agreeing that they will each create their own segments in private, then lock it up in an old cashbox until Halloween.
1. The Idea

**AN: **As promised at the end of my last story, here is the Angel Dedication fic. I've been planning it for a long time, since finishing The Story Never Ends, especially the story's conclusion. I hope it has the desired effect on readers. So, sit back and enjoy.

* * *

It was a crisp mid-September day. The Bohemians, Mark, Roger, Mimi, Collins, Maureen and Joanne walked up to the Loft together, everyone laughing and joking with each other.

"I remember that," Roger groaned. "You're never gonna let me destroy that picture, are you?"

"Aw, come on Roger, babe," Mimi cooed. "How often are we going to have an embarrassing picture of you letting Angel and me style your hair?"

"And into pigtails, nonetheless!" Maureen shrieked with laughter.

"Mimi said I'd get a reward for it, later," Roger blushed. Laughing, Mark opened the door to the Loft and was greeted by the sight of Emily sitting alone on the couch, playing solitaire. The moment she saw them walk in, her face broke out in a smile.

"Hey, everyone!" Emily greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Emily," Mark nodded. "What brings you here?"

"I dropped Penny off at school. Then, I figured since I had a free day, I'd come over and see if you guys wanted to do something. But when I got here, you were all gone. Where were you guys, anyway?"

"We were off visiting Angel," Collins explained. Emily's face fell instantly.

"Oh. I see," Emily muttered. At that moment, Mimi started laughing.

"Remember the time we were going on a picnic, and tried to make some bread for sandwiches because we were out and Mark and Roger forgot to pick up some more, but we all kept adding the yeast because none of us realized that everyone else was doing the same thing until it exploded in the oven?"

"Oh, yeah!" Mark chuckled. "I remember that. Angel went and played the drums outside the bakery, so they'd throw bread at her. She came back with over twenty loaves in various varieties. I never thought I'd get sick of bread until that day." The Bohemians continued to reminisce amidst laughter, failing to notice Emily looking increasingly uncomfortable until she abruptly stood up, an expressionless look on her face.

"Well, I'll see you later, I guess."

"Hey, Emily!" Mark stopped her. "I thought you wanted to do something."

"What? Oh, that. Never mind. Doesn't matter much anymore. I should… go and develop my pictures, anyway. See you around, Mark, guys." Without another word, Emily was out the door. For a brief moment, Mark toyed with the idea of going after his friend to help her develop said photos, but as the others continued to share stories of Angel, those thoughts vanished from Mark's mind.

"Hey, you know, Halloween's coming up," Joanne remembered. "We should all try and come up with something to do in her memory."

"Like what?" Maureen asked. "Go hassle Benny about Evita?" The Bohemians broke into laughter at the memory, but soon got serious as they offered ideas. However, each one was turned down for different reasons.

"Well maybe," Mark began. "Actually, I met this guy during my time at Buzzline, and we still talk with each other. He has a camera that can record sound, unlike mine. Maybe… we could all get together and…"

"Record ourselves giving a short dedication to her!" Mimi filled in the blanks. "Mark, that's brilliant."

"Great idea, Mark!" Maureen complemented. "We could each do our own bit, but in private, so what we say won't be influenced by anyone else. That way, the things we say will be completely honest." The others all shared a mutual approval of the idea.

"It's settled then," Collins smiled. "Mark, when can you get a hold of this camera?"

"Next week."

"Then that's when we'll start."

"And to make it extra special," Joanne suggested, "We can all have the official first viewing on Halloween."

"Hey, wait," Roger frowned. "I'm game for that idea, but how will we be sure no one watches it beforehand?"

"Trust each other?" Maureen pointed out.

"Like the time I trusted you to not to smear makeup all over my face while I was sleeping on April Fool's Day?"

"Actually, Roger brings up a good point." Joanne nodded.

"I have an old cash box in our room," Mimi volunteered. We can keep the finished product locked in there until Halloween."

'Thank you, Mimi. That's just what we'll do."

* * *

**AN: **So how do you like it so far? I'll post the next chapter soon. This fic will serve as a turning point in my line of RENT fics, so enjoy it, please. Until next time...


	2. Accusations

**AN:** This might be a little choppy. Sorry about that. I did my best. The chapter's purpose is filling in the passage of time, and setting the stage for the story's main plot.

* * *

"Roger, come on!" Mimi cried, as a grinning Roger tightened his hold on her waist, pulling her back onto the couch. "I need to go!"

"No, you don't," Roger insisted, nuzzling Mimi's neck, prompting a fresh wave of giggles from her.

"Yes, I do!" Mimi managed to say between giggles. "I have to go to work now!"

"Why?" Roger whined, kissing Mimi's ear this time.

"I'll be late if I don't leave now, Roger."

"So?"

"So, if I'm late, I'll get fired."

"Good. That means you'll get to spend more time here, with me."

"As tempting as that sounds, babe," Mimi laughed, trying to squirm away as Roger tried to kiss her neck as well. "I need to keep this job. It helps pay for our AZT, remember?"

"Aw, but Meems," Roger cooed, massaging her shoulders gently. "I wanna celebrate my first official meeting with the record company tomorrow with my girl."

"Guys!" Mark interrupted from across the room, finding he couldn't take the display any longer. "Can't you take that somewhere else?"

"Hey, it's our Loft too, Mark," Roger growled. "_You _could leave if it really bothers you." Mark scowled, but went back to his attempt at fixing the VCR they had found the other day, getting it ready for their unveiling of the Angel Dedication movie on Halloween night. The movie had been completed a few days ago, and now resided in the cashbox which stood locked on the old cabinets on one side of the Loft, next to the camera Mark was borrowing from his old Buzzline friend. The camera's true owner was out of town until November, so Mark hadn't had a chance to return it yet.

As Mark went back to working on the VCR, Roger went back to his attempt at getting Mimi to stay. At that moment, they heard a soft cough, like someone was trying to get their attention. Looking up, they noticed Penny smiling up at them. The little girl was dressed in a flowery skirt, and milky white blouse with a vibrant purple vest.

"Hi, Penny," Roger forced a smile, mildly annoyed by the interruption as Mimi cheerfully waved to Emily, who also had entered the Loft with Penny. "What brings you up here?"

"I wanted to show you my Halloween costume for trick-or-treating next week," Penny announced. "I'm going as a gypsy."

"Aw, Emily, you're taking her trick-or-treating?" Mimi smiled. "Bet that brings back memories of your trick-or-treating days."

"Actually, Mimi, I never went trick-or-treating," Emily confessed.

"Never?" Mark looked up in surprise.

"Well, Mark," Emily explained. "It's kind of hard to participate in an activity that involves the distribution of candy, when consuming said candy could end up killing you."

"Oh, right. Your diabetes," Mark nodded in understanding.

"Mimi!" Penny grinned. "Do you, Mr. Roger, and Mark wanna come take me trick-or-treating, too?" On hearing Penny giving out the invite, Emily glanced over slightly, as if waiting to hear the response.

"Sorry, Penny," Mimi answered. "But we have plans. Our old friend, Angel, loved Halloween, too. So we made a special video to honor her. We're keeping it in that cashbox over there, and we're going to watch it on Halloween, as a tribute to her memory." As Mimi spoke, no one noticed Emily lower her head sadly. Mimi glanced up at the clock. "Now I _really _have to get going. I need to get to work."

"Hold up!" Roger cried. "At least let me walk you there." Almost immediately after Roger and Mimi left, Mark decided to go out for some extra footage.

"See you later, Penny, Emily," Mark called, as he hurried out of the Loft, leaving the two watching him leave.

"Oh, too bad," Penny frowned. "I kinda really wanted them to join us."

"It's okay, Penny," Emily sighed. "You go down and change back into your normal clothes, okay? I still have a few hours before I have to go into work today, so we could go out for lunch. How's that sound?"

"Great!" Penny raced downstairs to change. As soon as she was out of sight, Emily's forced smile vanished, and she sadly watched out the window as Mark pedaled his bike down the street.

* * *

Halloween had finally arrived. Mark dashed around the Loft, getting his things together. He was meeting his friends at Marble Cemetery to visit Angel, and then they were all coming back to the Loft to watch the movie. However, he was running slightly late. Finally, pulling his scarf around his neck, he was out the door. On the way down the stairs, he nearly ran into Emily and Penny.

"Oh, hi, guys," Mark greeted, noticing Penny was in her gypsy costume. "Heading out for trick-or-treating?"

"Yeah!" Penny nodded. "You sure you don't want to join us?"

"I'm sorry Penny, but we already have plans."

"Then you better hurry and take care of them," Emily suggested curtly. Mark looked over at Emily in surprise.

"Emily? Is that a _dress_?" Mark blinked, taking in the sight of Emily in a black dress and matching beret, her frizzy mousy-brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"It was… my mother's," Emily confessed with a slight blush appearing in her cheeks. "She wore this to her poetry recitals. Why? Is something wrong with it?"

"No. It's just that I've never seen you wear anything like a dress before. You look different, that's all." Mark looked down at his watch. "Oh, sorry guys. I gotta run. Have fun trick-or-treating." Emily sighed heavily, watching Mark race down the stairs and out the door.

* * *

Hours later, the Bohemians returned to the Loft, everyone chatting away about looking forward to watching the Angel Dedication movie.

"Hey, wait a second," Roger suddenly spoke up, looking over at the cabinet. "The cashbox! It's already open!" Sure enough, the cashbox that held Angel's Dedication movie had been unlocked, and was opened slightly.

"But… who opened it?" Collins wondered.

"Oh, sh-t, Maureen," Roger accused. "You really couldn't wait a few more hours, could you?"

"What? Why do you automatically assume it was me?"

"Because you were the one who was dying to know what everyone else said, and you were the one I found listening outside the door when I was finished with my segment."

"Oh yeah?" Maureen snapped. "Well, Sherlock, how do we know you weren't the one who did it, and are just accusing me to throw everyone off the scent?"

"Calm down, Maureen," Collins reasoned. "If it was Roger, would he have pointed out the cashbox was opened?"

"Oh," Maureen frowned. "Good point. But that still doesn't tell us who _did _open it."

"Well, let's handle this logically," Joanne suggested. "Who had access to the cashbox?"

"Well, we all had equal chance of being alone with it today," Mark pointed out. "Wait. Mimi, didn't you have the key?"

"Don't look at me!" Mimi cried when everyone turned to her. "Why would I break the agreement we made about that movie?"

"Well, it was your cashbox, Mimi," Maureen pointed out.

"Guys, it wasn't me!" Mimi insisted. "Roger, you believe me, don't you?" Roger paused for a moment.

"Listen guys," Roger finally replied. "We all remember the time with Benny, when Mimi tried to tell me that she didn't cheat on me with him. I didn't truly believe her then, and I will always regret that now, because it resulted in us loosing a great deal of time that could have been spent together. Since then, I promised that I wouldn't be so quick to doubt Mimi. So, unless we have absolute proof, I can't stand by and allow you to send off unfounded accusations towards her."

"Well, one of us must have opened it," Mark mused.

"Okay, that's it," Joanne sighed in exasperation. "Roger has a point. Random accusations are getting us nowhere. We know one of us watched it beforehand, so we no longer have anything to loose by just watching it together now. After all, we planned on it now, anyway. And maybe by doing that, we can figure out who the culprit is."

"How?" Mimi wondered.

"Well, I don't think anyone here would break our agreement to just view it ahead of time." Joanne replied. "We all knew we'd watch it soon enough. So, the only logical reason left would be if they wanted to do their segment over again, to add or correct something."

"Oh, yeah," Mark nodded. "If you film over something, there sometimes can be faint images of the original piece that can be seen in the background."

"You seem to know a bit about motives behind the culprit," Maureen charged. Joanne gave her a stern look.

"I'm a lawyer, Maureen. It's my _job _to think like that."

"Enough," Collins barked, starting to loose his patience. "Let's just sit down and watch it, okay? There will be no more accusations, until we're absolutely sure who did it." Slowly, the Bohemians took up their places around the television, while Mark inserted the tape into the VCR. Together, they started to watch.

* * *

**AN: **And this is where the mystery component begins, sort of like a 'whodunit?' The following chapters will each be dedicated to the individual segments of each Bohemian. (This is the hard part, so bear with me.) Until next time...


	3. Joanne’s Segment

**AN:** Finally got past my short dry spell. The next few chapters _will_ all be very short ones. But they should be up frequently to make up for that. So, here's the beginning of the different segments. Enjoy.

* * *

_"Hello, Angel, Joanne began. "Wow. I can't believe it's already been a year since that day. We all really miss you down here. _

_"I'm always sorry I never tried to get to know you better in the short time we knew each other. But it was also impossible to know you for a day without being able to see you as an amazing person. And even when you were gone, you still made me grateful that we knew each other. It wasn't until your funeral that I finally saw you as a true inspiration. You understood how life was too short to constantly fret about the flaws of others. If it wasn't for you, I'd never have truly forgiven Maureen for her flighty manner."_ As she heard this, Maureen slowly frowned, Joanne's words sinking in.

"Stop the tape," Maureen finally announced. Mark and the others looked over in confusion, before doing what Maureen asked. "Flighty? You're saying I'm flighty?"

"Well, Maureen, you didn't have a history of reliability," Joanne pointed out.

"How can you say that?!"

"Because it's true. Have you forgotten that time you never showed up when we were setting up for _your _protest? And that wasn't the only time."

"I can't believe you're bringing all that up again!"

"You asked."

"Oh, come on, you two," Mark interrupted. "You can continue this later, can't you?"

"Fine," Maureen pouted, making a clear effort to scoot away from Joanne in a huff. "Go ahead." Mark sighed, and started the video back up.


	4. Maureen's Segment

_"Hi, Angel!" Maureen belted loudly. "How've you been, girl? Hope you haven't started the party up there yet. You gotta wait for the rest of us, you know._

_"It was always a blast with you around. You had the best dress sense then any of my other friends. Sometimes, I even forgot you weren't really a girl. It was so easy to talk to you about everything, because you never judged anyone. You always lent a sympathetic ear to me whenever something went wrong. Like when Joanne was getting uptight about something, including the way I dressed in public, and when I talked with some other girl..."_

"Stop the tape!" Joanne suddenly cried, turning on Maureen. "What was that?! You get wound up when I said you were flighty, then you turn around and have a go at me?"

"Oh, here we go," Maureen rolled her eyes. "Again, you're telling me what to do."

"I am not telling you what to do, Maureen! You're the one who's being the pot that called the kettle black."

"So are you!"

"Guys, come on!" Roger snapped. "You can have this fight later, okay? Remember what this video's supposed to be for!"

"Thank you," Mark nodded, ignoring the two girls glaring daggers at each other, moving to start up the video again.

* * *

**AN:** Yeah, they're all going to be like this. The individual segments ignite small spats between all the Bohemians, until everyone's fighting. Mark's segment is up next.


	5. Mark's Segment

**AN: **Yeah, I went back and made the video segments in italics, to make it easy to seperate the events in the movie from what's happening in the Loft. Hope it makes reading easier.

* * *

_"How are you, Angel?" Mark waved. "Boy, this is weird. I'm not used to being on this side of the camera. Bear with me, okay?_

_"I'm sure you realize I finished the movie I'd been working on all throughout the time we knew you. You were the inspiration, Angel. I'd never have finished it if it wasn't for you. You were the biggest inspiration I ever had."_

"Hey!" Maureen suddenly cried. "What about me?"

"You're not together anymore, Maureen," Roger reminded shortly. "Now knock it off! Enough fighting!" The Bohemians turned their attention back to the video.

_"I wish we could have had more time with you, Angel," Mark continued. "In the time we knew you, I was hesitant to get involved with what was going on around me. It wasn't until you died that I slowly was able to come out of that shell. So, I thank you for that."_

Mark suddenly noticed the glare Roger was giving him.

"What?" The filmmaker blinked in confusion. Roger let out a snort.

"I didn't think I needed to remind you. _I_ was the one who got you to realize that." The memory of that argument made Mark fidget uncomfortably.

"I thought we weren't going to bring that up again. I'd prefer to forget all about that."

"Why? So you could go back to detaching?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, okay?"

""Knock it off, guys," Maureen mocked Roger's earlier words. "Stop fighting."

"Stay out of this!" Mark and Roger snapped in unison.

"Hey! That's enough!" Collins scolded. "Let's just get back to the movie, okay?" Mimi glanced around nervously as her friends went back to the video. Fights were just breaking out again, like they had at Angel's funeral. Who knew how it would end this time?

* * *

**AN:** Next up- Roger's segment


	6. Roger's Segment

_"Hey, Angel!" Roger grinned. "Hope you're enjoying yourself up there. You really deserve to be._

_"That Christmas morning I met you will always stand out in my mind. Not many people would have had the backbone to make the type of entrance you made that day. I understand what Mimi said, about hitting it off with you. It's hard not liking a person like you._

_"I owe you a lot Angel. You brought Mimi back to me, even though I didn't deserve a second chance. You're the main reason we're together now."_

"Hold on," Mimi blinked, casting Roger a hurt look. "Does that mean… You wouldn't have taken me back if it wasn't for Angel?"

"What!? N…no!" Roger gaped. "I… I didn't mean it like that."

"Well then why'd you say it?"

"Mimi, please! You know what I was trying to say!"

"Forget it," Mimi turned away with a wounded expression, looking back to the television. Roger sighed, before following suit.

* * *

**AN: **Mimi's up next. Stay tuned.


	7. Mimi's Segment

_"Angel! You know I miss you!" Mimi greeted a bright smile on her face. "It's so quiet without you around here._

_"Everyone's doing great, though. And Roger and I are still together. I know you'd be happy to know that. You wanted to see us together so much._

_There's more, too. You're looking at a clean Mimi! That's right, I gave up smack for good! I know you'd be proud to hear that. It's all for you, girl!"_

"Hold up!" Roger suddenly turned on Mimi. "You mean it was _only_ for Angel? Who was the one who looked after you during your withdrawals? Who held you during your weak moments?"

"As I recall," Mimi replied coolly. "Angel wasn't the one who left me to die alone."

"I came back!" Roger growled. "I came back to be with you. Because I was sorry I left in the first place. Why'd you have to bring that up now?"

"Because you were overreacting, Roger."

"I'm overreacting? My girlfriend reveals she didn't turn her life around for me, and _I'm_ overreacting?!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Gladly!" The Bohemians looked back at the television to watch the final segment, with the air so thick with harsh feelings and tension; one more disagreement would most certainly put everyone over the edge.

* * *

**AN:** I'm going to have to stop here for tonight, for two reasons: 1) It's late, and 2) I need to brainstorm for the next chapter. I'll finish with the character segment chapters sometime tomorrow. Until next time...


	8. Collins' Segment

_"How are you, Angel, baby?" Collins spoke, with a smile containing a mixture of happiness and sorrow. "I hope you can see how much I still love you. But I'm not going to do anything rash to speed up the time to when we can be together again. I know you wouldn't approve of that. But it's still hard, baby. I'm always reminded of you everywhere I go. I miss you so much, Angel._

_"I must confess. When we lost you, what hurt the most wasn't that I couldn't be with you anymore, because we will be together someday. It wasn't 'goodbye' for us. It was just 'see you soon'. As to how soon, who can say? The thing that hurt the most was seeing everyone else drifting apart. There was a good amount of time when I started to loose faith that this family could survive without you around to hold us together. Your passing brought a lot of rifts between us all, almost like an earthquake moving through a community. Even now, I sometimes wonder if the bonds we have now are only held together by an uneasy peace, and a second tremor will destroy us for good. I hope I never have to find out."_

As Collins' segment came to a close, it happened. The pressure valve completely shattered.

* * *

**AN:** So angry! All the fighting! (LOL) Next chapter will be up the moment it's done. Stay tuned for it. Everything in this story has been leading up to it,so I really hope you enjoy it.


	9. I Never Knew You

"You really had _that_ much faith in our friendship?" Mark asked testily.

"Well, look at what's happening now!" Collins pointed out. "The same thing is happening all over again."

"Why'd you have to bring up all our past problems?" Roger demanded. "What happened to moving on?"

"This coming from someone who blew up when I talked about getting clean?" Mimi hissed. "I thought you wouldn't bring up smack again once I was clean."

"And thought you wouldn't ever bring up Santa Fe!" Roger pointed an accusing finger.

"How do you think I feel?" Maureen cried. "Joanne's still harping on her old peeves."

"Maureen, shut up." Joanne snapped. "You really can't mind your own business. You never could."

"Hey! At least I don't sit around and let my friends fight, _Pookie."_

"You swore you wouldn't call me that anymore!"

"Why? Does it bother you?"

"If you must know, yes!"

"Well, _that's why I did it_!"

"I wonder, Mimi! Could it be you actually _miss_ shooting up and messing up your life? Roger spat.

"If that's what you think about me, Roger Davis, if you really are only sticking around because of _Angel_, maybe you should head back to Santa Fe!"

"Yeah? WELL, MAYBE I WILL!"

"GREAT! Tell me when you're leaving, so I can help you pack!"

"Guys, stop fighting," Mark tried to act as peacemaker.

"Give it up, Mark," Collins groaned. "You're as much to blame as everyone else."

"What!? I'm trying to set things right here!"

"Well, maybe that's making it worse. You ever think of that?" The fighting continued to escalate in volume and intensity. But, at that moment…

_"Um. Hi, Angel."_ The Bohemians all stopped in unison, turning to see the image of a nervous Emily appearing on the television screen.

"Emily?" Mark blinked in brief confusion. Suddenly, it all clicked. "_She_ opened the cashbox!" The six friends slowly moved back to the couch to watch the segment Emily had made without their knowledge.

_"Listen," Emily began. "I realize that this movie is only for the people who knew you. People like Mark, Roger, Mimi, Collins, Maureen and Joanne. So by all rights, I shouldn't even be doing this. But I hope you'll forgive me if I do, because I want the others to include me in what they do. But many times, they don't. Especially if it involves you. Don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming you. I understand that they like talking about you, and remembering you. I feel the same way every time I think about my brother, Zack. That's right, you've probably met Zack up there in Heaven, haven't you? Yeah, he's a great guy, isn't he? When you see him next, do me a favor, and tell him that I love him, and I really miss him. But I digress._

_"Knowing the others has to have been one of the greatest things that's happened to me, ever. I really like being around all of them. But then, there are the times when you come up, and in those times, I feel like such an outsider. Let's face it, I never knew you. Because of that, whenever the others start talking about you, and reliving the memories of the times they shared with you, I have to step back, and no matter what, I can't interrupt their moment. I feel bad and guilty for thinking this, but when that happens, I hate it. It's like I went to see a show on Broadway, but I got to the theater late, so I missed the whole first act. I said before I don't blame you though, and I don't. But in times like that, it's a painful reminder of how much I missed out on, all because I didn't meet them until after you were gone. They already have shared so much, and it sometimes feels like I'm unwelcome, and an unwanted intrusion. I can't tell you how much I hate that feeling, because that's how I always felt growing up, when I was virtually ignored by my peers at school, all because of what my parents did in order to provide for my brother and me. But then Mark crashed his bike outside The Center, and for the first time in a long time, I met people, six wonderful people, who always made me feel welcome, like I was truly wanted. No one had made me feel like that before, at least no one since Zack had died. That's why it's so hard listening to the others talk about you. And that's why I had to include myself in this movie the others are making for you. I want to feel like I'm one of them. But because I never knew you, I'll never truly be one of them. There will always be something that separates me from the others. That fact hurts more then you'd ever believe. I don't want to be excluded. But I also know that they have a right to exclude me at times. I realize that I don't know you, and I can't share in their memories of you. All I can do is stand back and listen._

_"You might be gone physically, Angel, but you wouldn't believe how much your presence can still be felt around the others. You wouldn't believe how much knowing you has touched them all, how your memory still continues to touch them. I listen to their stories of you, and look at the pictures that Collins and Mimi keep, and watch Mark's footage of you. And in those moments, I can almost feel your presence practically radiating off the others, and I can hear your voice, and your laugh, and see you smile. And in those moments, I _do _know you. It might be only through the others, but I know you. I know you, and I look forward to the day when you and I can meet in person." Emily flashed a smile at the camera before leaning forward to turn it off._

The Bohemians sat in silence for a moment, staring at the blank screen before Mark switched the television off. Even then, the silence continued for a moment longer. It was finally broken by a quiet sob from Mimi. Instantly, Roger was at her side, pulling her head to his chest and gently stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry," he choked.

"I'm sorry, too. You… you're not really going to go leave for…?"

"No! No, Mimi. I'm not running this time. Not again. You're stuck with me." Maureen glanced over at Roger and Mimi before slowly turning to Joanne.

"Jo, I'm…I…" Joanne cut her off with a kiss.

"You don't have to say it, Maureen. I already know. It's my fault, too." Meanwhile, Collins and Mark were watching the two couples reconcile.

"You'll forgive me if I don't…" Collins chuckled.

"Of course," Mark replied quickly before the two shared a friendly hug. Mark then turned to look at the VCR, which had ejected the video. "Okay. No one can tell Emily we watched that."

"I can't believe she actually did that," Maureen stated. "I wonder why she thought…"

"We… we have been ignoring her lately," Mimi realized. "Remember how she kept trying to invite us to do something, but we never accepted?"

"She did seem upset we weren't taking Penny trick-or-treating with her tonight," Mark remembered. The Bohemians sat in silence, reflecting on their friend, Emily. At that moment, the Loft door opened. Everyone looked up as Penny walked in, carrying a plastic pumpkin pail filled with candy, followed by Emily. Both were still in their Halloween costumes. Emily immediately noticed the looks everyone was giving her.

"What?" she looked around quizzically. After a brief hesitation, Collins moved forward, and pulled her into a large hug. The others quickly followed his example. "Okay, guys," Emily blinked. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but what's going on?"

"Forget it Emily," Mark smiled. "It's not important right now." Emily glanced over at Mark in confusion, but returned the hug her friends were giving her.


	10. Bridging the Gap

**AN: **And here's the last chapter. Hope you like it.

* * *

Almost a month had passed since that Halloween night, and it was now almost Thanksgiving. The Bohemians were once again in the Loft, with everyone doing their own thing. Mark was fiddling with his camera while Roger was on the couch, tuning his guitar with Mimi sitting next to him, trying out a new hairstyle on Penny. Emily was at the table, going over her grocery list and budget for ingredients for the Thanksgiving dinner she'd be preparing, living up to her status of, as Maureen would put it, the Bohemians 'personal gourmet'.

"Okay, I think I got it," Emily announced. "I just want to know one thing. Do you want traditional herb stuffing, or cornbread stuffing?"

"Traditional," the decision came back unanimously. As Emily went back to her mapped out plan, Collins walked in.

"Well, Thanksgiving Break at NYU has officially begun," he announced. "I can sleep late tomorrow. How's the feast planning coming along Emily?"

"Fine," Emily replied with a smile. "But you _do_ realize that this is the first time I'd be preparing a Thanksgiving meal with Tofurky. To avoid 'cross-contamination' between the Butterball turkey and your vegetarian substitute, I'm going to have to be running back and forth between this oven and the one in my apartment. I just want you to appreciate that."

"Believe me, I do."

"I just realized," Mimi spoke up. "This is going to be the first Thanksgiving I share with you guys! Last year, I didn't have much too really be thankful for, considering…."

"Hey, that just makes this year more special," Roger pointed out, sliding closer to her to gently stroke her back. "You know, guys. Maybe we should stop and visit Angel after the dinner. It's a family holiday, after all."

"Sounds good," Mark agreed before noticing Emily's face starting to fall again. The filmmaker smiled gently. "Hey, Emily! You want to come with us?"

"Me?" Emily looked up in shock.

"Sure. Like Roger said. Thanksgiving's a family holiday. That includes you and Penny. Besides, Angel would have wanted you to come. I think she'd have liked you." Emily's face broke into a wide smile.

"Yeah!" Emily replied enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'd like that! I'd like that a lot." Emily sent them one last smile before deciding to head out to pick up the things for the Thanksgiving dinner.

"Want some company?" Collins offered. Once again, Emily smiled broadly, accepting the company of her friends.

As the six friends began the trip to the local grocery store, Mark secretly glanced over at Emily, who looked as cheerful as ever, remembering what had happened when they had seen her contribution to Angel's Dedication. Angel had been the very glue that had held everyone together. On that night, that glue seemed to have died, like Angel. But Emily's words had somehow restored the bonds that were unraveling once again. It was in that moment, he wondered if it was possible that the torch of being the Bohemian Family's binding glue had somehow been passed to Emily by Angel, by means of their fallen friend's memory.

* * *

**AN: **So, how'd you like this story? Next one's gong to be humor: Prank War. Stay tuned. Until then, this is Data Girl 3, signing off.


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